Countdown City
Series: The Last Policeman, Book 2
By: Ben H. Winters / Narrated By: Peter Berkrot
Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
So help me, this series is growing on me… big time!
Okay, okay! So, like, I was reeeeally crotchety about having purchased every single audiobook in The Last Policeman series without listening to the first one to see whether I even liked the writing/narration. And that first book had so many flaws I started feeling dejected about the impulse buys.
But I’d read that the series picked up with the last two books, so I went into Countdown City with quite the measure of hope, I tell you.
And it did NOT disappoint. This time Henry, Hank, Palace is on the case of a Missing Person. This at a time, the end of the world via imminent asteroid strike, when EVERYbody is skipping out to live out the rest of their Bucket Lists. Naturally, things aren’t as simple as they seem; things get complicated; Hank gets wounded many a time (he attracts injury like no character I’ve seen—who else gets nailed by an amped-up staple gun?!?).
There are twists and turns which make for a more satisfying mystery in this audiobook than in the first—I had no problem there. But what really did all the shining in this sequel is the further breakdown of society, of individuals, as the asteroid gets nearer. There are holy roller sects, preppers galore, mini-republics and communes, societies bent on action based on either good information… or on paranoia (and Hank’s sister, Nico, gets a lot more airtime in this book as plots continue). It’s an absolutely fascinating take on how people would live, how they would behave, what choices they would make, if they knew they were going to be, quite possibly, dead in a few months.
Characters from the first book make appearances, and I greeted them like old friends, comfortable shoes that I didn’t realize I’d been missing. Dr. Fenton. Naomi. The old guard detectives and patrol police. And of COURSE there’s the ever-faithful, ever-adorable Houdini, the best dog in the doomed world.
Another thing that grew on me and that I welcomed? Peter Berkrot’s narration, that Northeastern accent that somehow has a New Orlean’s drawl and twang on key words. Oh, how I loved listening to his tense and determined Hank, his exhausted yet feisty Dr. Fenton. His semi-crazed wielders of staple guns. There’s a lot more action in this continuation, and Berkrot manages it all well, keeping the listener on the edge of her seat.
So I’m very happy at how things shaped up in Countdown City, even though the writing isn’t the most erudite in the world. Winters did manage, however, to write a good and solid novel that has me tapping my feet, DYING to get to Book 3, the last one. I’ll be sorry for it to end, but I’ll be happy if Winters makes it as good as this one.
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